'Switch off street lamps during the day'- Minister Ranawaka

by Ananda Kannangara

The Power and Energy Ministry has again called upon officers of Local Government bodies to closely monitor street lamps in their areas and stop electricity wastage during the day between 5.30 am and 6.00 pm.

Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said complaints are received by his Ministry from the public in certain Local Government areas over street lights not being switched off at the correct time.

It is reported that workers of some village Local Government Bodies as well as in Colombo fail to switch off street lights during the day.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) says local bodies owe billions of rupees to the CEB for the use of street lamps.

The Minister said some local authorities have taken measures to switch off additional street lights and also to replace bulbs with low voltage LED and LCD bulbs.When the situation was brought to the notice of Local Government and Provincial Council Minister A.L.M. Athaulla, he said he would closely monitor the situation and take action against responsible officials.

According to statistics, Sri Lanka consumes 2000 MW of electricity during the peak hours between 6.30 and 9.30 pm.

If consumers could switch off refrigerators and additional electrical appliances during this three-hour period, the Government could save eight billion rupees.

The Minister also called upon all emergency services in the country such as hospitals, police stations, security and service stations to make arrangements to use power sparingly during peak hours and help the Government's `Energy Saving Program'.